1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a playhouse requiring a minimum of parts, easily assembled by a child of tender years, and having sufficient structural rigidity that it can be picked up and moved without falling apart.
2. Prior Art
Playhouses provide much enjoyment for children because they simulate the ownership of a house which can be lived in and because they simulate exclusive possession in that the house may have play furnishings and small scale appurtenances. Many U.S. and foreign patents attest to the continued interest in providing playhouses suitable for children of tender years among which are the following.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,428,405 describes a toy house adapted to be readily set up or erected by a child as well as subsequently knocked down. The toy house described in this patent has a center wall or panel which is the backbone of the structure. To the lower end of the center wall are secured two base panels. Two vertical gable panels are hinged the center wall. Floor panels are also hinged to the center wall. The floor panels have notches which cooperate with notches in a corner piece attached to the gable panel and provide structural rigidity when assembled.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,520 describes a magnetically operable play doll set including a housing having a floorboard divided by walls into a plurality of rooms and doorways. The floorboard is very thin and is supported by a frame. The walls are secured to the frame through the floorboard by means of a clip having a pair of upstanding arms provided with opposed spaced apart inwardly directed engaging flanges. The arms extend upwardly through an appropriately located slot in the floorboard and the engaging flanges extend into apertures in the lower portion of one of the walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,848 describes a model house that can be erected from a combination of parts without tools or fasteners. All parts are rigid members that interlock so that they cooperate together to maintain the structural arrangement of the house.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,551,666 describes a toy building of simple construction that can be quickly assembled and disassembled by a child. The building has a center wall, sidewalls, a pair of roof sections secured to the center wall and sidewalls by cleats, a central floor, and stairs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,869 describes a toy house formed by a plurality of interlocking panels. In one embodiment, the toy house is formed, without exterior walls, of panels which interlock by means of slots. In another embodiment, plastic fittings are used to hold the edges together, and in addition, bendable joints between panel sections are provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,659 describes a collapsible doll house constructed of a small number of individual panels which serve as walls, floors, roof, etc. The panels are provided with grooves and slots so that all panels slide together and support one another. The parts are held together by pegs inserted in matching holes in the panels.
British Pat. No. 1,219,584 describes a doll house made of paperboard material and assembled with tongue and slot and/or twin slot coupling connections. Plastic stiffening members line the slots to reinforce the connections.
British Pat. No. 1,220,350 describes a model building and, particularly, a kit for forming the building. The kit includes a tray filled with blocks defining slots therebetween which are perpendicular to the base of the tray and are adapted to receive the lower ends of extensions of the walls of the building to assist in maintaining the walls of the building upright and rigid.
While the doll house as described may be erected by a child, a fair amount of skill is involved and, in many cases, additional pieces are required to secure the structural members together.